


Dinner for Three

by GrimReaper7557



Series: Tales of the SSV Artemisium [2]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Comfort, F/F, F/M, Hurt, Multi, Post-Mass Effect 3, Pre-Poly, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26368000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimReaper7557/pseuds/GrimReaper7557
Summary: Hades would rather die than let them go, but he isn't about to break a bond between huntress'. Veyiz isn't sure where she fits between the two or if there's room for her at all. Enis can't figure out how to get everyone just to realize the obvious without smacking them over the head with it.A tale from the adventures of the SSV Artemisium.
Relationships: Original Asari Character(s)/Original Male Human Character(s)
Series: Tales of the SSV Artemisium [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1916170
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Dinner for Three

Their mission had been a success, the Cerberus base demolished with no survivors left standing. Captain Wolfram hadn’t particularly approved of it, preferring that some of the Cerberus forces face justice for their crimes but the rest of the crew understood. Cerberus had taken too much from the galaxy to allow for mercy or justice to rule the day.

Even so Hades felt the weight of his actions hang heavy. War was easy, you had an enemy and you eliminated them. This hadn’t been war, and not everyone had carried a weapon in that complex. Revenge never brought peace, but he hoped it would bring comfort to those who were no longer here.

Shaking the thoughts from his head he stepped off the shuttle and into the hangar bay of the cruiser. Already some of the geth they worked with were beginning to unload the cargo they had taken aboard while others secured their equipment and weapons.

He watched the turian Spectre quickly move to the lift, more than likely eager to meet with his bond-mate, the Captain. He didn’t really understand their relationship, but their banter and bickering always drew smiles around the table at meals. It was nice to see that the universe hadn’t robbed everyone of their comfort.

He felt a light touch against his left arm, or rather the arm that had been replaced during his ‘rebuilding’. The geth were nothing if not practical and he often wondered if they had minded taking pieces of their former bodies in order to piece him back together.

Turning he saw the concerned look of the asari commando whom he called friend. They had grown close, or as close as a triple amputee rebuilt by cybernetics and geth synthetics could be while destroying Cerberus bases.

“Hades?” Her voice was soft and raspy, a passage away from his thoughts.

Hades could tell she was searching for something buried behind his eyes, or rather the red-tinted cybernetics that they had been replaced with.

“I’m okay Enis, just tired. One of the scientists down there was involved with my time in Cerberus. Not exactly pleasant.”

She nodded, presumably in understanding.

“Let’s get you out of the armor then and we can grab some food. I know Veyiz will have something waiting for us.”

He nodded his acquiescence, the armor he was forced to wear always easier to remove with the help of one of the asari commandos or the geth. Between Lela’Veezh, their resident Quarian engineer and the geth, they had been able to fabricate a heavy armor style that he was used to. The downside was that so much of it was required to interface with his synthetic parts and required extra care in donning and doffing.

He followed the huntress as she glided through the bay, deftly avoiding the busy Geth and heavy equipment laying about. The armory was at the far end towards the lift. Unlike the Captain and the Spectre they kept their equipment in the armory instead of a personal room.

Hades watched as Enis began loosening pieces of her huntress ‘leathers’ though they were more carbon-nano fiber filaments and ceramics and less actual leather. He couldn’t help but admire the form fitting shape on the muscular asari. Of course, removing it meant he got to see the well-defined muscles and her violet skin. Never in a hundred years would he have thought he’d have an appreciation for the muscle definition that Enis carried on her frame, the grace with which she carried herself only accentuating it. Then again, he was no longer the person he once was. His ‘feet’ if one wanted to be that generous, were quiet against the deck. Inertial dampeners and sound suppression still active as he followed the asari.

Enis had arrived at her locker, most of her armor already removed and he was able to appreciate the fact that someone as strong as she was had inserted herself into his life. She pulled on a t-shirt, one of his he realized with a small smile. He may have been slightly taller than her, but they were roughly the same size in the shoulder. She turned to him with a small smile on her face, and he couldn’t help but think she was stunning.

Wearing a slightly baggy t-shirt of his and a pair of loose cargo pants shouldn’t have been the best thing he’d seen in a while but Hades couldn’t be brought to care. The huntress tattoos on her face only accented her natural beauty and he had to pull himself away from staring to focus on his own armor.

He always removed his gauntlets first; without the bulky hands it was always easier to release the clasps that kept the majority of his armor in place. The right one was first, and he flexed all five fingers in turn, the cool air a reminder that they had spent a good portion of time planet side.

Hades paused as he considered his left hand, the three elongated digits a constant reminder that he was less than whole. He felt Enis come to stand in front of him, knew that she was waiting for him to come to a decision before she assisted.

The seals on the gauntlet quickly came undone, and he flexed the three ‘fingers’ of the geth arm and hand he now wore. He watched as two hands came to clasp his one, the sensory input telling him they were smooth and cool against his. It was a strange feeling, knowing that there weren’t any nerve endings but having the tactile sensations all the same.

Hades raised his gaze to see Enis staring back at him, concern in her eyes as she waited patiently for him. He leaned down to rest his forehead against hers, his time with the turians giving him the habit. It was his way of showing that he appreciated her patience and the solid foundation she laid for him.

Veyiz was always more prone to action and snark while Enis was his rock. He loved them both for it.

“Let’s get the rest of this off of me and go eat, I’m sure Vey isn’t going to wait much longer before coming down here.”

Enis laughed, “I’m sure she won’t.”

With that the rest of the armor was removed quickly, deft fingers and lots of practice assisting the procedure. His left arm up to the shoulder required several pieces to integrate to the synthetic arm and hand. His right required less fittings thanks to the majority of the arm still remaining, though several muscles had required replacement with the synthetic geth musculature.

The modified undershirt he wore, similar to a quarian enviro-suit in design was the next to be peeled off after the two large pieces that made up the torso came off. The undershirt allowed for better integration into the armor with his different parts. It allowed Lela and the geth to obtain better information on the functioning and efficiency of his replacement parts that they were always seeking to improve.

The geth legs were a different matter entirely, the parts weren’t exactly standard design and so they had modified the geth plating to fit, albeit with more layers for protection. Getting a leg shot off would probably activate a fail-safe in his sensory input but he hadn’t felt like chancing it.

With all the armor removed and stored he was able to switch to a pair of baggy shorts, about the only thing he could throw on quickly over his oddly shaped legs as well as one of the standard t-shirts they kept in the armory. There were no shoes in the universe that would fit the two-toed feet.

Enis stepped close to him, her lips brushing softly against his. He wrapped his good arm around her waist, the other coming to her back to draw her in. He never could get enough of her, the hard planes of her body and viciousness in a fight contrasted so deeply with her outward personality. He lived for the tender moments she gave him.

“Veyiz just called me, she said if you two don’t finish making out and come up to eat she’s personally going to put you in a stasis until morning.”

Hades pulled back suddenly, glaring up at the krogan who had managed to sneak up on them. He felt Enis laughing against him, hiding her face against his shoulder.

“Thanks Crar. I see Vey has been teaching you some of that renowned huntress silence.”

“Hah, you two are so wrapped up in each other I probably could have had Ares stomp in here and you still would have missed a twelve-foot robot invading your space.”

Hades felt Enis snort against him, “Come on let’s not keep Veyiz waiting. Have a good evening Crar, you want us to leave anything out for you?”

Hades felt Enis pull him away, Crar already turned to the weapons bench where he was disassembling a shotgun. “No thanks Enis, you three have a good night. I won’t be up for a while. Don’t let them wear you out too much Hades.”

Hades wanted to respond but Enis dragged him forcibly out of the armory and to the lift before he’d had a chance to formulate anything. The lift was quiet and Hades found himself relaxing as the asari leaned against him, a comforting presence once more.

oOo

Veyiz was setting out what was meant to be a light meal, she knew Gailus would join Calico in their shared rooms, but Enis would be hungry after a mission and she would get Hades to eat something. Breads, cheeses and meats were accompanied by a few Thessian dishes that would have the eezo content Enis needed.

She knew she had put out far too much for a simple return meal, but Veyiz felt it was her way of making up for not being able to go with the two on their mission.

_‘Can’t believe I pulled a muscle so bad the doc wouldn’t let me go. Oh well, I got to cook for once and they got back safe.’_

Veyiz wasn’t typically the homemaker of the group, Enis was the better cook while Hades spent an exorbitant amount of time and credits keeping the crew stocked with the good booze, Crar’s preference for ryncol notwithstanding.

The lift dinged and Veyiz quickly stood to watch Enis and Hades exit. She felt her heart squeeze at the closeness of the two. Her feelings on their relationship were undetermined at best and bordered on jealousy at worst. Enis was her battle sister, and occasional lover, and at times something more. But Enis had found a similar soul in the human. They had both seen him join the crew as something lesser, and thanks to their efforts become a trusted member. Broken as he was, he had proved himself a worthy warrior, and someone who was able to nudge Enis from her usual solemnness into something more playful.

She didn’t necessarily envy Enis, but it was a feeling she couldn’t readily identify or deal with as of yet. There was always a hint of something lurking just below the surface, waiting to burst out of Hades that she wanted desperately to explore.

_‘Would he fit as well against me as he does her?’_

“Hey you two, get busy in the lift on the way up? Took you guys long enough, I had to send Crar to see if you needed rescuing.”

“Yea very funny Veyiz, just needed help getting the armor off. Something I’m pretty sure you’ve helped with before.”

Veyiz gave Hades her best salacious grin, “Removing armor huh? Sounds like I missed out.”

“Goddess you are incorrigible, you’re three-hundred years old, at least act like it.”

Veyiz shared a laugh with Hades, “Alright you two, sit down and eat, I probably made too much but from what I heard of the audio you guys got into it down there.”

She watched the smile fade from Hades, and she understood that something had disturbed him while they were on the surface. Her heart did another flip as Enis reached up to drag her nails through his hair, and the slight bend to accept her touch.

“Hades?”

This time he looked up at her, the heaviness gone from his gaze. “Do you and Enis practice that or is the somber questioning tone something asari huntresses just master?”

When Enis laughed Veyiz knew the somber mood was lifted and the trio sat to eat. Tea was poured for everyone and Veyiz watched the two dig in to the food in earnest.

“Thank you for putting this together, I know you would rather have come with us. This means a lot though.”

Veyiz looked up at the strangely sincere tone Hades had used. _‘Something definitely happened down there, he’s not usually like this.’_

“Of course, our culture is communal, and it doesn’t allow us to sit idly by while we have those we care about elsewhere.”

Veyiz saw the other asari snap her attention to her, brows raised in question. There was an inscrutable look on Hades’ face that Veyiz wasn’t ready to unpack at the moment and simply took a sip of her tea.

“Would anyone care for wine? As good as the tea is, I think I stashed a bottle of Thessian red down here from the last time we were on shore leave.”

Hades stood, and moved towards the kitchen. Quiet acceptances were given by both asari and he busied himself sorting out the bottle and glasses.

“Vey?”

“Goddess he’s right, we have a tone.” Enis simply waited for her to continue, “I was worried about you…and him. I wanted to be there with you, and to support him in getting through whatever went on down there. Comms made it sound like a pretty good mess.”

Veyiz watched as Enis reached across the table to gently grasp her hand, “Siame, if we thought you well enough to accompany us you would have. He won’t say it but he missed your presence there as well. You mean a lot to him.”

Veyiz could only curl her hand further around Enis’. “I see how close you two are, I know you Enis, this isn’t something casual for you. I know he’s still figuring things out but you’ve all but bonded to him.”

She tried her best to keep the hurt from her voice, one-hundred and fifty years spent together wasn’t something she was readily able to just let go.

oOo

Hades felt the tension in the room, knew that there was so much left unsaid between Enis, Veyiz and himself. The maidens were near opposites of each other, and yet he wasn’t sure he’d ever counted on two people more in his life. He was their weapon on the battlefield, he brought chaos to their enemies while they danced among them, bathed in the glow of their biotics.

Most of the time Spectre Tremorian simply said “Go forth and wreak havoc, we’ll clean up.” It was a strategy they were good at, the fact that Crar and the Spectre alone could probably destroy a platoon sized force notwithstanding.

He took his time finding the bottle, the statement from Veyiz about worrying telling him that the two needed a moment. Unsealing the bottle, he gave it a quick appraisal to ensure it hadn’t spoiled and grabbed three glasses. He would have preferred one of the dark elcor beers or a hard liquor to the wine but wine would be more to Veyiz and Enis’ preference.

Drifting back to their little table he saw Veyiz try to withdraw her hand while Enis stubbornly hung on. Setting the glasses down he did his best to concentrate on his task of pouring wine, first for Enis and then circling around to pour for Veyiz. It was something the asari had done when the crew took more formal meals together and he wanted to continue the custom.

Hades felt a desire to comfort the maiden, and gently grasped her shoulder with his good hand, the bottle of wine held securely in his left. He felt her tense under his touch, like Enis she was lean and muscled, though not nearly as broad and slightly shorter in stature. Where Enis was his rock, she was the dancer, the one to charge headlong into danger and come out with a laugh.

He squeezed gently, no words coming readily to him. She turned to look first at his hand then up at him, eyes shimmering slightly in the light. He lingered for longer than was probably appropriate, the silence heavy among them. Turning he felt the brush of finger tips against his and turned to see Veyiz quickly turn back to Enis, hand dropping into her lap.

oOo

Enis had watched the interaction quietly; she knew Veyiz was still struggling with her relationship with Hades and at times she did to. It certainly hadn’t been something she planned on, but she cherished it all the same. As much as she and Vey were opposites he was their balance.

Veyiz turned back to her, looking more conflicted after she had reached for him. Enis had felt her heart clench at the two of them, wishing that she could just say what everyone was thinking. It would be the easier solution, but Veyiz had always needed to come to her own conclusions.

Hades had shown her nothing but unwavering support, conflicted as he was in where they stood. Enis knew the balancing act they were all trying to maintain needed to come down sooner or later, but nerves were too raw this evening for that.

“Tomorrow we should start some physical therapy for you. We have to get your leg back in working order so you can join us on the next excursion.”

She watched Veyiz smile at the change of topic, “Of course, can’t have a huntress duo without both huntress’.”

“As good as Gailus is, the three of us can definitely move faster together. I don’t think we would have taken so long on the ground if you had been there Vey.”

This time Enis watched the smile reach her friend’s eyes at the comment from Hades. She tried to hide her own smile behind sipping her wine but she knew both of them saw it. They were a good team, and Enis knew that if Veyiz had been down there, they would have cleared the base that much faster. Hades was an excellent soldier, but two experienced asari commandos were a force unto themselves, regardless of who was with them.

“Okay enough of what could have been, how did Cal handle being on the bridge this time around while we had all the fun?”

Veyiz was laughing, “Oh she nearly had a fit when Gailus came over the radio that he needed help. Bonded mates and all I’m pretty sure she was about to head down to the shuttle bay and fly a gunship herself.”

Enis smiled as the conversation drifted towards lighter topics and away from things unsaid.

oOo

One bottle of wine later and he was ready for sleep. It had been an exhausting day and between the food, wine and good company all Hades wanted was his bed.

_'Wonder if Enis will want to stay with me or go with Veyiz tonight.'_

His thoughts were answered after the three began cleaning up.

“Ready for bed?” He turned to see Enis leaning against the counter looking at him, a small smile on her face.

“Pretty sure that’s all I’m ready for. Thanks again for the food Vey. It was definitely needed.”

He actually felt his heart clench when Veyiz didn’t turn to look at him, only nodding before putting the last of the silverware away.

“Vey?”

This time she turned as his tone, quickly schooling her face into something he couldn’t read.

“You two have a good evening, I thought I might go to the observation rooms and sit for a bit.”

_'She's pushing us away...'_

He reached out to grasp her hand before she could turn and run, “Why not come to bed?”

The question was a loaded one, something that could make or break the current status quo they had. Hades knew this was only a small first step, asari were communal as Enis had to explain to him when he saw them sleeping together the first time. His question could be interpreted several ways and he hope that Veyiz wouldn’t overthink it.

“I think we could all use some rest, and there’s enough room for him to join us.”

_‘Spirits, thank you Enis. Please just say yes little one.’_

Hades could see the indecision in Veyiz’ face. He knew Enis had explained that they were simply sleeping together at night, they often traded after all. He was still processing too much for anything more. There was a good chance he was missing some context for everything, but it didn’t mean that he would exclude Veyiz from the one she very clearly loved.

“Please?”

Hades felt her indecision break, her hand tightened in his and he tugged her to him. Wrapping his arms around her she tucked herself under his chin and returned the hug.

Softly he whispered to her, “Please let us take care of you. I would not offer this lightly, and neither would Enis. She would sooner let me go than ever give you up.”

Hades felt her tighten around him and he returned the comforting pressure. Comfort was familiar and easy; it was her love that he hoped to eventually gain.

“Come on, lets all go get some rest, it’s been a long fucking day.”

Hades could feel Veyiz laugh against him at the crass commentary from Enis. She was usually more reserved in her opinions.

He watched Veyiz disentangle herself from him to walk over and hug Enis. The sight of the two of them together was more than he was ready to handle. They fit perfectly with each other, Enis the taller of the two holding Veyiz as if to protect her from a coming storm.

Who was he to get in the way of that? He was a broken thing, discarded by the Alliance and then Cerberus, barely put back together. How could he tear apart a multi-century relationship?

_‘I can’t. So, I’ll offer what comfort and support I can to them both.’_

**Author's Note:**

> Working on some character driven drabbles for an upcoming series about the SSV Artemisium and her crew. 
> 
> *Will most likely appear in the main story in a different fashion.*
> 
> All OC's are mine. 
> 
> Mass Effect Universe belongs to Bioware. 
> 
> Set after the events of ME3, non-canon Destroy ending.
> 
> Siame: "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Taken from Cerberus Daily News Wiki)


End file.
